


It’s a Small World (After All)

by gimmick_game



Category: Arashi (Band)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-11-19
Updated: 2012-11-19
Packaged: 2017-11-19 02:05:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,669
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/567828
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gimmick_game/pseuds/gimmick_game
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Arashi as Disney World employees. Chaos ensues.</p>
            </blockquote>





	It’s a Small World (After All)

**Author's Note:**

> harinezumi_kun is completely to blame for this happening, as it was her idea to begin with. I’m just running with it. For vintage_belle on the occasion of her birth. :) Hope you enjoy it, dearest. I’m going to try to be good and really write birthday fic this year! As for Disney references, I’m going by my own experience with the backlot area of Epcot which I’ve been in for Candlelight Processional in years prior, plus what I’ve heard from friends who’ve worked at the various Disney World Parks.. Anything else is completely made up and figments of my own imagination. Super big thanks to floweranza for the look-over for me. :)

“I swear to god, Aiba, if you sing that one more time...” Nino growled as he stepped off of the tram, his bag slung over his shoulder and bouncing lightly. Behind him, Aiba stepped off as well, letting out a little ‘ompf’ that interrupted his fifth chorus of “It’s a Small World”. Nino was starting to bristle with the tune. It was bad enough he was scheduled to be in Fantasyland today and would therefore inevitably hear the song fifty plus times throughout the day, all while smiling pleasantly through it. 

Aiba merely chuckled nervously and fell into step beside him, though he did thankfully stop. “Sorry. They had me working it for ten hours yesterday, it’s still stuck.” Nino looked up at the taller man and simply humphed in response. Masaki Aiba was tall, lanky and probably the most attractive ride attendant Disney had working for them at the moment. Sometimes, Nino wondered how Aiba hadn’t managed to secure a spot as a character as he had before remembering there really weren’t any asian characters aside from the Mulan ones. He’d lucked out getting cast as Aladdin - he had the right build and features , so it was enough that the casting director could overlook his actual heritage. 

Kazunari Ninomiya had moved to Orlando with his mother and older sister at the age of twelve from California, where she had worked at the Disneyland parks as an operations manager. His first job had been in the gift shop outside of the Country Bears at sixteen and since then he’d held several positions throughout all of the parks and resorts. It was how he’d met Aiba, two years his senior, five years prior. They’d both been set to work Spaceship Earth that day and had never been paired together for a shift since. Nino thought perhaps it had to do with the light switch raves they held just before closing time. Aiba thought it was the power of their sheer awesome of being together. 

Nino sometimes thought Aiba was a bit dim.

Hefting his bag up higher once again, Nino sighed and wiped the sweat from his brow. Another day he sincerely thanked the higher ups that Aladdin had a thin, light costume. It sucked during the two or three months that Florida got cold, but it definitely was a miracle come the heavy summer months. Nino didn’t really handle heat well to begin with, and he hated to think how he’d handle it in a full Mickey costume or something like it. 

Beside him, Aiba had started humming again and Nino took it upon himself to poke his friend nicely in the ribs with the tips of his fingers to get him to shut up. It worked and earned him an indignant squeak as well, which left Nino smiling.

Today would be a good day.

____

Today had been a shit-tastic day.

Nino groaned as he flopped onto the bench in the cast member changing area, Aladdin’s pants still hugging his waist low, but vest thrown to the side. Satoshi Ohno, his handler, stood waiting for the rest of the costume, already holding the hat and eyeing the vest on the floor. 

“Aren’t you supposed to, I don’t know, make sure the kids in line don’t look like they’re about to barf before you let them near me?” Nino bemoaned, groping blindly for the pack of baby wipes he’d pulled from his locker before flopping. Finding them, he pulled one free and worked it over his arms and chest, vainly attempting to remove all traces of kid-vomit. He’d have to shower, but at least now he smelled of baby powder and not partially-digested Mickey-shaped chicken nuggets. 

“He looked okay to me,” Ohno replied, finally deciding to pick up the errant vest and depositing it in the laundry bag to drop of with costuming later. He took a seat at the end of Nino’s bench and placed a hand on his satin-covered knee, rubbing gently. “Sorry.”

Nino grunted his reply, arm tossed over his eyes now to block the angry fluorescent lights. “Fine, just...don’t let it happen again.” Nino snuck a peek at Ohno through his arm, his lips quirking just the tiniest bit. It was damned near impossible to stay mad at Ohno, especially for something he really had no control over. Nino just liked to bitch.

The day had started out fairly normal. Parting ways with Aiba at the cast member areas, Nino had shown up at wardrobe, collected his costume, dressed and found Ohno all in record time. The first few appearances had gone well. Meisa was his Jasmine for the day and that fact alone was enough to put Nino into good spirits. It was easy to joke with her and keep up the rapport they were supposed to exhibit to the kids as the “couple in love”. 

After lunch was when things had started to go wrong. Spending the beginning of his shift around Adventure Land, after lunch had him in Fantasyland, in particular just outside of the Small World ride. On top of the incessant jingle that could be heard from the ride, the heat had gotten to highly oppressive levels. Add on top of that children running around dehydrated and hopped up on far too much sugar, disaster was simply a moment away. 

Too bad he hadn’t been able to dodge the puke rocket one child had sent his way. It meant an early end to his day, at least as Aladdin, but it also meant explaining to costuming why he didn’t save their precious outfit from the brunt of it as well as spending the last bit of his shift covering for the understudy who was taking his place.

Covering, in of all places, It’s a Small World. 

Nino stifled a groan yet again. “Matsumoto is going to try and use this as an excuse as to why he needs to permanently take over my spot as Aladdin, isn’t he?” Nino bemoaned, the question directed mostly at Ohno but also to the universe in general.   
 For his part, Ohno simply shrugged and examined a bit of clay caked under one of his nails. “His eyebrows are still too bushy.” 

Nino snorted.

_______

One Jun Matsumoto happened to be Nino’s roommate and direct competition for his position as Aladdin. Jun had been employed at Disney as long as Nino had, though for his part he’d been a dancer for the majority of it. Currently part of the “Move it! Shake it! Celebrate it! Street Party”, Jun was always looking for a way into Characters and out of dancing. 

“Got puked on again?” Jun said from the couch as Nino slammed the door in welcome. His response was fairly close to a growl, earning a pleased chuckle from Jun.

“Shut it, Matsumoto,” Nino bit out, grumbling under his breath about too much sugar and irresponsible parents. For his part, Jun picked up his feet to let Nino plop onto that end of the couch, even if he did plant them immediately back down on Nino’s lap.

Jun flipped the pages of the magazine he was reading a few more times before setting it down. Nino glanced at him out of the corner of his eye, not quite giving up his anger just yet. He wasn’t mad at Jun, just the situation in general. It was a bit hard staying at the man who was so very good with his lips.

Nino cleared his through as he steered his thoughts away from that direction and back to the present. “Little brat wouldn’t stop running around and as soon as he stopped to take the picture, pow, right on my chest.” Nino let out a full body shudder, sinking further into the couch. “I swear I can still smell it.”

Jun chuckled, though Nino could tell it wasn’t at his pain, just at the situation. Jun sat up now, his feet tucked up under him as he curled an arm around Nino’s shoulders. “You know, I could always take your place if you wanted. I hear there’s an opening at It’s a Small World.”

Nino had no remorse for the indignant squeal Jun let out as he shoved him off of the couch to the ground.

_____

To be completely honest, Nino knew he really didn’t have it bad at Disney. Aiba was constantly shuffled around from attraction to attraction and even between parks. Jun was dancing in the blazing heat with no shade several times a day, all with a huge smile. He and Ohno had it fairly cushy, really. Yeah, it was hot or ridiculously cold for his state of dress and sometimes the kids puked on him or poked at him, but they at least spent most of their time in shade or sometimes indoors. 

No, Nino didn’t have it bad at all. Sho, on the other hand...

Sho Sakurai had been a senior at Nino’s high school his first year. Smart and likable, everyone expected him to head off to college somewhere prestigious and make something better of himself. Maybe come back and work in operations or higher up making the big bucks. What no one had planned on was Sho enrolling immediately at the University of Central Florida, majoring in music (Piano to be specific) and taking a job as a costumed character at the parks to pay his bills. 

Sho also had the unfortunate luck of being one of the best Minnie Mouses the park had. 

Thinking on this fact as he finished his make up (why did Arabians have to wear so much damned eyeliner?!), Nino smiled at his reflection. So he had an idiot friend who liked to get stupid songs stuck in his head; a handler who liked to forget he was handling anyone and nap in the shade; an ambitious roommate/boyfriend who liked to try and usurp his position, despite too-thick eyebrows. Yes, he had all that, but at least he wasn’t Minnie Mouse.


End file.
